


First Christmas

by theberrygirl14



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Cute, Fluff, Husbands, M/M, Married Couple, Romance, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 20:00:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22003624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theberrygirl14/pseuds/theberrygirl14
Summary: I wrote this for a Tumblr Secret Santa! Just a cute piece about Arthur being sick with a cold and his husband Charles wanting to take care of him. Takes place at Christmas of course.
Relationships: Arthur Morgan/Charles Smith
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	First Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TexStudmister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TexStudmister/gifts).



Arthur sneezed. Again. He was doing a poor job of hiding his cold and everyone at camp knew it. There was nothing more the man hated than being sick; his own body turned against him to make him feel weak and unable to go about his normal tasks. There was usually a constant string of requests for him to run errands or get this or that for someone, but Hosea had stemmed the tide and held off folks from bothering him too much once he noticed that his adoptive son was feeling under the weather. 

Charles watched Arthur struggling to chop wood and rolled his eyes. Part way through his third log he coughed so hard the axe fell from his hands, hitting the ground near his feet and Charles took this as his que to approach. He picked up the weapon and watched Arthur turn away, muttering something about inhaling too much dust. 

“Arthur, you need to rest. It’s not good to carry on like this when you’re sick.” 

“Ain’t sick, Charles. Just got something in my throat is all.” 

Charles laughed softly, placing an arm behind the other man’s back and leading him away from the main camp. “Something in your eyes, too then? Your lungs? You’ve been coughing and sneezing away for days now, admit you’re sick.” 

“I said I’m not sick, Charles! Why do you want me to say it so bad?” 

As he guided Arthur into their tent, Charles pushed him lightly so he sat on the bed. “I want you to let me take care of you.”

“Ah, fine. I usually get sick this time of year anyway, so ain’t nothing special." 

Charles spoke slowly as an idea formed in his head, "Why shouldn't we make it special?" 

Arthur stared, confused. "Just me being...sick. How special can that be? I can’t do much besides wish I was dead in the ground instead of lying up here useless. What are you planning, Charles?”

“Hunting. Let’s go for the night, let you really rest in a cabin somewhere by the fire. I’ll shoot some deer and cook it for you. Have a...special evening away from camp and everyone here.”

Arthur blushed slightly and tried to cover it up with a cough, but he was touched by Charles’ concern and desire to treat him back to health. “Why you wanna go through all that effort just for me?” 

Charles shrugged. “It’s Christmas. And it’s the season for kindness. Or maybe I just want to spoil my husband and let him know the work he does is appreciated.” Arthur rubbed his hands over his face and Charles laughed softly, kneeling down in front of the older man trying to hide his embarrassment. “I’ll go let Dutch know, you just pack and be ready to leave by morning.” He pressed a kiss to Arthur’s forehead and left the tent.

Sitting alone, Arthur let out a few more coughs and resented the sickness huddled in his chest. He hadn’t felt this bad in years, but knew the cold would pass in a week or two. Usually when he got this way he wanted nothing more than to be alone, but Charles had brought out all kinds of changes in him ever since they grew close in Colter. 

“I don’t think we’ve talked much, you and me.”

How quickly things had changed; in the beginning Charles taught him how to use a bow while Arthur warmed those in the gang to him, and somewhere in between they started to fall. Arthur had never experienced feelings like that before, not even for Mary, and tried to hide them. But Charles was in no rush, giving Arthur all the time he needed to accept that someone would willingly give him the love he deserved. 

When Charles asked Dutch to leave camp for a day or two he was initially upset. “Christmas is coming up, son, we can’t have our family split apart right now!” Knowing how the leader worked he waited a few moments. Dutch puffed his cigar and thought. And paced. Then finally came to a conclusion. 

“Fine. You two can go out hunting. I see the need to make your own traditions this time of year, especially your first together.” 

Charles graced Dutch with a rare smile and went to gather provisions for the ride. When he and Arthur first announced that they were planning on getting married, most folks in camp didn’t even know they were together. It was a shock to see Arthur with anyone other than Mary after all these years, but everyone was pleased about it. Hosea was giddy and offered to help coordinate the plans. Mary Beth wanted to be in charge of getting musicians to come out and Tilly knew a few men who could bring moonshine to the camp and really get things swinging after the ceremony. Her words, not Charles’. Both of the men were a little hesitant at the thought of a group ordeal, but in the Van der Linde gang there was no such thing as a small celebration, and it ended up being perfect. 

Early the next morning Charles gently shook Arthur’s shoulder, eager to get going. They ate a quick breakfast and then took off north; anticipation building with the increasing amount of snow. 

“My parents never cared for the snow.” Charles broke the silence as he and Arthur rode into a clearing. The trees encased them both in a stunning winter landscape. 

“Really? I thought you all lived up north, though.” 

“You’d think that. My mother lived all of her life outside in her village, being with her people and fishing, mostly. Father was from the south though and he preferred the heat. He loved sitting outside and watching people go by, drinking his whiskey and...well, that’s a lot of what he did.”

Tamia came to a stop. Charles moved nervously on her back and motioned forward. “Here we are.” 

The small cabin stood before them boasting an A frame dotted with snow. A wreath had been placed on the front door with golden bells, a beautiful reminder of the season. Charles took Arthur’s hand and walked to the door to explore inside. A homely scene greeted them, complete with a kitchen, a large bed, and a fireplace located in the middle of the room. It made the men wonder what life outside of being outlaws could be like, what their home could be. 

Arthur coughed, bringing them back to the reason they travelled so far. Charles started a fire and made sure Arthur was lying down before heading out to hunt. He returned an hour later to find the cabin nice and warm, the perfect environment for someone sick to rest and recuperate. This was proven by the snores Charles listened to while he carved the deer to cook for dinner. 

As the logs on the fire burned lower, the glow changed from a warm yellow to a vibrant orange. 

"Arthur...time to get up, dinner is ready." 

Arthur blinked and took in the room around him. "You did this all, for me?" 

Charles laughed softly and brought a bowl of food over for him to eat. The room had been transformed into a beautiful oasis; a tree was chopped down and mounted in the corner, full of tinsel Charles had brought from town. At least twenty candles were spread out in various spots around the cabin causing the light to shimmer and sparkle around the two men. 

"Of course. Like I said, I wanted this to be special. After all, it is our first married Christmas." 

Arthur sat up and kissed Charles, hoping he understood how much everything meant to him. The thought to whisk him away from camp, hunting and cooking for him, taking care of him while sick? Arthur had never experienced such love and it overwhelmed him at times. 

"I really do love you, Charles. Thank you," Arthur was interrupted by a sneeze, then continued. "This is...more than anyone's done for me. I hope you know…" 

Arthur trailed off and fidgeted with his hands, embarrassed to be caught up in so much emotion. Luckily Charles knew exactly how he felt and ended the thought for him. 

"I do. And I'm looking forward to doing it the rest of my life." Charles took his husband's hands in his own and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Arthur."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
